Haring moved to New York City at the age of 19 and discovered the thriving alternative art world of the downtown streets, subways and nightclubs. He soon became one of the best-known artists responding to the urban culture of the 1980s - utilizing a variety of media in order to communicate essential themes such as birth, death, love and war to amass audience. Although his career was cut short, his imagery has become a universally recognized visual language of the 20th century.